


each day is like a gift (because of you)

by eyesofjihoon (taesquared)



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Animal Transformation, Canon Compliant, Comfort/Angst, Don't Take This Too Seriously, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Magical Realism, Merry Christmas 2019, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 08:53:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17158985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taesquared/pseuds/eyesofjihoon
Summary: It's Christmas, there's an award show, and Daniel's a dog. Heck, Jihoon just wanted to sleep in.





	each day is like a gift (because of you)

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas, everyone. Thank you to all of you who have read, commented, and given kudos on my works this past year. Joining this fandom was one of the best decisions I've ever made and all the support I've gotten truly warms my heart. This is my present to all of you. It's not a lot, but I hope you'll like it. See you all in 2019. No matter what happens, we will always be Wannables. <3
> 
> \--
> 
> Cross-posted on AFF: https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1382873/each-day-is-like-a-gift-because-of-you-christmasfic-canoncompliant-kangdaniel-parkjihoon-wannaone-nielwink-animaltransformation

It all started when Jihoon woke up to a blood-curdling scream followed by Seongwoo bursting into the room with near manic in his eyes.

“Guys,” he gasped, “You have to come see this.”

And then just like that, he ran back out and barged into Daehwi’ and Jinyoung’s room to wake them up, though it would have been weirder if the maknaes weren’t already awake given how much noise Seongwoo was making.

Jihoon blearily got out of bed, cursing the elder for ruining his Christmas plans of sleeping in until 2:00 p.m., and padded out to see Seongwoo dragging the others out of their room and into his and Daniel’s. What he saw when he entered jolted any remaining sleepiness out of him and the boys stood there, gaping at a loss for words.

On Daniel’s bed, in place of the tall, handsome, and utterly charming center of Wanna One—and also Jihoon’s boyfriend—was a small, fluffy Samoyed puppy with its pink tongue happily hanging out as it blinked with innocent confusion at the humans standing by the door.

“Uh,” Jihoon said intelligently.

“He was here when I woke up,” Seongwoo explained nervously. “I don’t suppose any of you bought a dog last night?”

The boys shook their heads, baffled as ever. 

“Then whose dog is that?” Woojin glanced around the messy room. “And where’s Niel-hyung?”

The puppy rolled over on its back and whined as it raised its paws and playfully padded the air above it.

“Niel-hyung?” Daehwi stepped out to scan the apartment. “Niel-hyung?”

“Maybe it’s a surprise gift and he went out,” Jinyoung suggested.

“I…didn’t need another puppy though,” Jihoon mumbled beside him.

“Well I didn’t say it was for _you_ ,” Jinyoung teased.

“There’s no collar, though,” Seongwoo said, becoming increasingly disconcerted. “Unless one of you stole it.”

“He’s not here,” Daehwi came back, slightly worried now. “We should ask the others, maybe he went out with someone.”

“I’ll call them,” Seongwoo stepped out and dialed Jisung.

Woojin wormed his way towards the front door and stared at the pile of shoes and slippers by the entrance.

“Guys, his shoes are still here.”

“Maybe he went barefoot,” Jinyoung tried to joke, but everyone knew Daniel wouldn’t be caught dead running around on the streets of Seoul without some overly-priced brand-name shoes.

Jihoon turned back to the puppy, who was now nibbling along the edge of the blanket. The puppy met Jihoon’s eyes and barked, bringing everyone’s attention back to it.

“Alright, Jisung-hyung is bringing everyone up for an emergency meeting,” Seongwoo returned, frazzled as he stared at the four-legged thing in the room.

After a moment, Woojin said with a hesitant voice, “By any chance, is anyone else thinking what I’m thinking?”

“What’s everyone thinking,” Jinyoung replied, “Because my idea is kind of stupid.”

“Same,” Seongwoo said, running a hand through his messy hair.

“Mine too,” Daehwi said, jumping a bit when the puppy barked again, this time louder and more insistent.

“Okay, but that’s impossible,” Woojin said, bewildered, and turned to Seongwoo. “How would that even…—Hyung?”

Seongwoo shook his head, completely at a loss.

After a brief silence, Jihoon gulped, and hesitantly called out, “Daniel?”

The puppy leaped up, tail wagging excitedly, and barked.

Jihoon’s eyes widened. “That was…just a coincidence. Right?”

Again, the puppy barked, and ran in small circles on the bed.

“Maybe his name just happens to be Daniel?” Daehwi suggested, though his voice showed no conviction.

Jinyoung took a step forward with a tentative hand held out in front of him. The puppy— _Daniel?_ —happily panted, and when Jinyoung began to rub the space in between his ears, the otherwise silent room was filled with the telltale squeaks of pleasure and comfort.

“Is it…is it really him?” Daehwi slowly came up to sit beside Jinyoung, too nervous to potentially pet his hyung on the head like a baby.

“I still don’t believe it,” Woojin knelt in front of the bed and held a hand out. The puppy sniffed his fingers and cowered back.

There was a knock at the door and Seongwoo scurried out to open it. Within seconds, all of Wanna One were crowded into Daniel’ and Seongwoo’s room. After a very quick and confused debriefing, everyone stared and struggled to figure out the origins of this mysterious puppy on Daniel’s bed.

“He’s so cute!” Guanlin squealed, diving towards the bed to wrap the puppy in his arms. The puppy yelped at the surprise attack, but quickly melted into submission when Guanlin began petting the dog all over. “Can we keep him?”

“We might not have a choice,” Seongwoo muttered lowly.

“Lin-ah, we don’t have the room or the time for another puppy,” Sungwoon argued.

Guanlin pouted and caressed the puppy even more enthusiastically.

“Call Daniel,” Minhyun offered, keeping his distance to avoid triggering his fur allergy. “Maybe he’s gone out? I left my phone in the dorm.”

“I already tried,” Seongwoo said, exasperated. “His phone’s on the drawer, see?” 

“But then…?”

“His shoes are still here, too,” Woojin added.

“And he doesn’t have a schedule this morning,” Jisung said, “I asked our manager last night.”

After another deafening silence, Jaehwan voiced out what everyone was thinking, the only impossibly possible explanation remaining:

“Are you telling me we think this dog,” Jaehwan gestured to it, “…is our Nielie?”

For a moment, no one answered because the implications were too absurd. Finally, Jisung said, “Let’s test it. Guanlin, put him down for a second, you’re strangling him. Everyone else, step back.”

Guanlin set the puppy down as Jinyoung and Daehwi moved back to stand by the wall. Jisung knelt down until he was eye level with the puppy.

“If you’re really Daniel,” he glanced behind him, “Which one of us is Sungwoon?”  

The puppy barked and without hesitation bounded over to the smallest member, eliciting frightened and excited gasps from the members. The puppy ran in circles around Sungwoon’s legs and from beside him, Minhyun cowered away to practically stand outside of the room. Sungwoon laughed as he scooped up the puppy and cooed at the bundle of fluff in his arms.

“Nielie! Oh my God, you are so much cuter in this form,” Sungwoon said and poked the puppy’s nose with a laugh.

“Why are you so calm, how is this possible!?” Seongwoo screeched. “We literally have a concert tonight and our center has turned into a freaking dog!”

“Should we tell the manager hyungs?” Jinyoung asked, sneaking over to Sungwoon to pet Daniel’s head (because who knew if he’d ever get this chance again).

“No,” Jisung replied sternly. “We’ll figure this out. If we tell them, they’ll go ballistic and then it’s my neck they’re going after for not looking after you demons.”

Sungwoon set Daniel down and Guanlin took the opportunity to scoop him up again before he could get too far. Daniel whined in his arms, inching his nose towards a particular member who until now had stayed rather quiet.

“Hm? Oh, hyung, I think he wants you,” Guanlin held Daniel out towards Jihoon. Jihoon gaped.

“Go on,” the maknae urged. Jihoon nervously held his arms out when a high-pitched yapping pierced his ears and grew louder. Just then, Max bounded into the room between Woojin’s legs and leaped into Jihoon’s arms, effectively stealing all of his attention. Jihoon worriedly pet Max’s head, suddenly remembering he hadn’t been fed yet.

“Max!”

The Samoyed growled at the intruder and barked loudly.

Seongwoo groaned and rubbed at his temples. “I can’t.”

“Daniel, hush,” Jihoon reprimanded.

“How are we going to turn him back?” Jaehwan asked to no one in particular. “Like how did he even…?”

“Hyung, did he seem off at all last night?” Woojin turned to Seongwoo, who glumly shook his head.

“I went to bed before him, but he seemed fine when I saw him last.”

“This is bad,” Jisung said. “Thankfully, we don’t have a schedule until the awards show tonight, so we have time to figure out a solution before then.”

“And what if we don’t?” Daehwi took Daniel out of Guanlin’s arms, relieving the maknae of the scowling creature.

“We _will_ ,” Jisung stressed, and that was that.

Seongwoo clapped his hands, “Alright, everyone, out, I need to change. Go make yourselves useful. Jihoon, you can stay. Out, out…”

Daehwi set Daniel down, leaving him with Jihoon.

“Aw, I wanna stay,” Sungwoon whined, but a glare from Jisung quickly shut him up.

“The sooner we figure this out, the better,” Jisung nudged him along despite the younger members continuing to protest. “Come on, kids.”

“I don’t even know where to start,” Jaehwan muttered as the members trickled out into the living room. Before Jisung closed the door, Jihoon handed Max over to Woojin with an urgent nod to feed his son.

Seizing the opportunity, Daniel quickly bounded over to Jihoon to sit in his lap, practically begging to be pet with his literal puppy eyes and high-pitched whining.

Jihoon sighed. “Why do you do this to me, huh? Why are you so troublesome, huh?” He said it with fond exasperation, placing a hand to rub comforting circles between Daniel’s ears. “Seriously, how did this even happen?”

Daniel barked and panted, extremely content. He rubbed his head against Jihoon’s palm for more friction before lifting up to nuzzle his nose against Jihoon’s face.

“Ugh,” Jihoon groaned, leaning back against the drawer when Daniel began to lick at his face and more sensitive areas along his jaw and neck. “Daniel!”

Seongwoo grimaced, stepping into the closet to change. “Is this how you foreplay?”

Jihoon threw the elder a glare, but Daniel didn’t relent with his displays of affection; if anything, Seongwoo’s words only spurred him on.

“Daniel, calm down,” Jihoon chuckled, patting the puppy’s head. “We have to work together so we can bring you back to normal,” he chided. “Don’t you want to go back to normal?” 

Daniel whined, but then a loud gurgling sound erupted from the puppy’s stomach. Jihoon startled.

“You didn’t eat?” Jihoon gasped, scooping Daniel into his arms and hurrying outside. Seongwoo followed wordlessly. “Woojin, pour another bowl.”

Woojin was in the midst of putting the large bag of dog food away in its cabinet. He gave Jihoon a look. “We only have _one_ feeding bowl.”

Jihoon looked over as Max continued to chow down on his breakfast. He felt a faint rumbling in his hands as Daniel stared at Max in disdain.

“Be nice,” he scolded. “Woojin, we can just use a plate.”

Woojin glanced at the Samoyed before grabbing the largest plate he could find. “If he makes a mess, you’re cleaning it up.” He poured the food out onto the plate as neatly as he could, ignoring the pellets that ended up scattered around it.

Jihoon set Daniel down. Daniel sniffed at the food and recoiled in mild disgust before taking a hesitant bite. The food crunched unnaturally between his teeth and Jihoon could actually see the puppy struggle to swallow. Daniel whined.

Jihoon chuckled, sympathetic. “This is why we need to bring you back, hyung.”

Daniel made a sad noise in the back of his throat and continued to slowly chew on the dog food while the members struggled to find solutions to this ridiculous predicament.

“I’ve got nothing,” Sungwoon groaned, his eyes straining after ten minutes of intense web searching.

“Me neither,” Daehwi added. He had even tried using American search engines in case turning into dogs was common on the international front (it wasn’t).

“Are any of you demons actually a demon,” Jisung grunted, only half joking. He glanced at Jaehwan and Jinyoung who had neglected their phones for research, instead using them to film Daniel as he ate.

Jisung sighed. Maybe it was time to come up with a really bad excuse in case Daniel the human couldn’t attend the ceremony. No doubt the fans would be pissed.

His worries were interrupted when he heard angry barks and growls.

“What’s going o—Max!” Jihoon exclaimed, admonishing him as he nosed his way onto Daniel’s plate. “Max, you have your own bowl for a reason!”

Daniel, despite finding the dog food quite disgusting, didn’t take kindly to the other four-legged beast stealing his food. He shoved the smaller puppy out of the way, causing Max to fall to the side and whimper in pain.

“Daniel!” Jihoon shrieked, picking up Max’s tiny form and cradling him to his chest. “Jesus, Daniel, what is wrong with you, _control yourself!”_

A tense silence filled the apartment. Daniel’s ears visibly drooped and the Samoyed whimpered, ashamed.

“Ah, honestly,” Jihoon huffed, aggravated. Daniel looked up in an attempt to appease him, but Jihoon shot him a glare that made him lower his head once more. Without another word, Jihoon brought Max back into his and Woojin’s room, shutting the door with more force than necessary. Daniel flinched.

“Okay. So that happened,” Sungwoon muttered dryly. He glanced at Daniel. The poor puppy looked like it was about to cry.

“Who’s eaten,” Jisung piped up. Without really taking a head count, he added, “Let’s go out to brunch. I'll pay,” he said, and cringed at what he just said.

“What about Jihoon-hyung?” Guanlin asked, worriedly.

“He’ll be fine,” Jisung insisted. “Let’s go, kids.”

“Okay, but someone should stay and watch Daniel,” Minhyun argued, but fumbled when he realized he didn’t want to be that person. “Um…”

“I’ll stay,” Jaehwan offered.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I don't mind,” Jaehwan nodded, scooting over to pick up Daniel and place him in his lap. 

“We’ll get you something,” Jisung said with a grateful smile. “You can’t perform on an empty stomach.”

“Go,” Jaehwan urged, standing up while holding Daniel close to his chest. “I’ll be fine. I’ll lock the door.”

Jinyoung, Sungwoon, and even Daehwi made sure to rub Daniel’s head and poke his nose before leaving. The members waved, and Jaehwan raised one of Daniel’s paws to wave back.

Once they left, Jaehwan sighed. Jihoon’s door was still closed. He made his way to the couch and placed Daniel on his lap. The puppy whimpered, miserable.

“Hey,” Jaehwan consoled, petting him gently. “I know Jihoon’s mad at you, but he’ll cool down. He’s very protective of Max, you know that.”

Daniel looked up at Jaehwan. “Oh, don’t pull those eyes at me,” he said with a chuckle.

“How did this happen, hm?” he mused. “You didn’t eat anything weird, right?”

Daniel shook his head and turned to look longingly at Jihoon’s closed door. Jaehwan followed the puppy’s gaze.

“Is this because of Jihoonie?”

Daniel whined pitifully and rolled onto his back, asking to be pet along his belly. Jaehwan complied.

“This better not be a sex thing,” Jaehwan grimaced. Daniel growled. “Okay, good.”

A thought came to him. “You're not by any chance jealous, are you?”

Daniel rolled back on his stomach, kneading his paws into Jaehwan’s thigh.

“Jealous of Max?”

A low growl rumbled in Daniel’s throat.

“So you _are_ jealous. Ahh...” Suddenly it all made sense. “You’re jealous because Jihoonie spends so much time with Max and not as much time with you, right?"

Daniel whined. "You’re afraid Jihoon is neglecting you in favor of Max. Oh, Niel-ah…”

Jaehwan affectionately rubbed along Daniel’s back. “And you thought turning into a dog would solve it?” he joked.

“Niel-ah, I think you should talk to him about this. I mean, communication, right?”

Daniel gave a scornful glance. “Yes, I know you’re a dog, don’t look at me like that. I meant you _should’ve_ talked to him before things got out of hand.”

Daniel whimpered, hopeless. It was too late now. He was a dog. Dogs don’t talk. And even if they did, Jihoon didn’t want anything to do with him at the moment.

Jaehwan took sympathy on the poor puppy. “Okay, look, because I hate seeing you sad. I’ll get Jihoon out of his room and tell him what’s up.”

Daniel’s eyes grew hopeful and Jaehwan smirked. “You owe me big time. Wait here.”

Jaehwan stood up and gently knocked on Jihoon’s door.

“Jihoon? Can I come in? …Uh, no, he’s not with me.”

The door opened and closed as Jaehwan slipped in. Curious, Daniel sprinted to the door and pressed his face up against the wood. He could make out Jaehwan’s urgent voice as he coaxed Jihoon to come out and have a serious talk with him, relaying everything from before. Aside from the occasional hum, Jihoon was silent for most of the conversation, which made Daniel nervous.

“Now get out there and talk to him. I’ll look after Max,” Jaehwan said, and before the door opened, Daniel raced back onto the couch and flopped on one of the cushions.

The door opened and Jihoon glanced around before spotting the Samoyed’s conspicuous white fur splayed out on the couch.

Jihoon sat down next to the puppy and Daniel could sense the anxiety radiating off of him.

“Jaehwan-hyung said you were jealous of Max,” Jihoon started. “Is that true?”

Daniel didn’t respond.

Jihoon huffed, grinning at the thought that the dog could answer back. “Oh, Daniel…”

Jihoon lifted Daniel up and placed him in his lap to face him. Daniel’s eyes widened when Jihoon leaned forward to kiss the space between his ears. Daniel let out a soft whimper.

“If you were jealous, you should’ve told me. I _just_ got Max, and I worry for him a lot because he’s tiny and the world is dangerous,” he reasoned. “This is my first time raising a pet and I want to do it right. I would never forgive myself if something happened to him, you understand that, right?”

Daniel nodded, feeling the guilt of hurting Max ramming into him again. He yelped when Jihoon suddenly laid on his back, putting Daniel on top of his stomach, his paws spread out across his torso.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Jihoon kissed the puppy’s nose. “But you can’t just bully your way to get what you want, puppy or otherwise. You know this.”

Jihoon rubbed lovingly along Daniel’s back and Daniel shivered with pleasure every time his fingers softly brushed his neck.

“I love you,” Jihoon whispered, catching the puppy off guard. Oh, how Daniel _wished_ he could say it back. “I love you so, _so_ much. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m sorry I don’t show it well. I'm not good at these things, but," Jihoon shook his head, "That's no excuse. I love you, and I want you to know that.”

Daniel shook his head and buried his nose into Jihoon’s neck. He licked his favorite spot right underneath his jaw and Jihoon laughed. Jihoon raised his arms to hug Daniel close to his chest, being careful not to crush the puppy’s body with his strength.

“I’ll try to say it more often, okay?” Jihoon said, his eyes shining with love and adoration. He gave another kiss onto Daniel’s nose and Daniel nodded enthusiastically against his chest. He barked happily, his paws pressing against Jihoon’s chest to reciprocate the hug as best he could.

Daniel tilted his head to lick Jihoon’s cheek when a sudden wave of sleepiness overtook him and he let out a massive yawn. Jihoon’s eyes fluttered, his arms snugly wrapped around Daniel’s tiny body. He too felt a surge of drowsiness begin to take over his body, and before he could register what was happening, the pair fell asleep, laid out on the couch.

***

Jihoon woke up with a jolt when he felt a pillow being thrown at his face. He growled and was about to throw it back but realized he couldn’t move due to a heavy weight crushing him to the couch.

The weight groaned.

Jihoon blinked, and gasped.

Daniel.

Daniel, sweet, caring, beautiful _human_ Daniel, waking up with his eyes in tiny slits, his lips jutting out into the cutest pout, and his arms tucked warmly around Jihoon’s waist.

Jihoon hugged Daniel with pure elation, shaking him awake.

“Hu—wha—?”

“You’re back,” Jihoon cried, feeling relief wash over him. “Oh my God, you’re back.”

Daniel chuckled, “Huh, I’m back. I mean I never left, but—”

Jihoon shut him up with a bruising kiss.

When they separated, Jihoon looked up at him with those beautiful eyes and whispered, “ _I love you._ ”

Daniel grinned. “Well, good morning to me.”

Daniel was about to lean in for another kiss when Jisung cleared his throat rather loudly. He scrambled off of Jihoon—thank God he was somehow clothed—and blushed when he saw the other Wanna One members standing by the door, some of them relieved Daniel was no longer a dog, and some of them disgusted at the blatant display of affection before them.

“As glad as we are that you have two legs again,” Jisung grumbled. “Please remember some of the kids are underage. We brought some food back for you if you’re hungry.”

With that, the group dispersed and went about their business. The members went up to Daniel to make sure he was okay, that he wouldn’t turn back into a furry creature anytime soon. Sungwoon teased Daniel for actually tasting dog food firsthand, and Daniel shuddered, hoping he would never have to do that again.

After the excitement died down and everyone had gone back to their respective spaces, Jihoon dragged Daniel back to this room. When Woojin saw the pair come in, he shook his head.

“Absolutely not,” he muttered and went out to bother Daehwi and Jinyoung in their room. He popped back in a second later to remind them, “If you touch my bed, I’ll castrate the both of you.”

He closed the door after that.

Daniel snickered. “So. Where were we?”

Jihoon played coy, “Oh, right. You still have to apologize to Max.”

He padded over to Max’s doghouse and pulled the tiny creature out, still swaddled in his blanket. Daniel sniffed when Jihoon held him out for him to hold. It was obvious Max had been sleeping.

“Go on.”

Daniel grumbled with little emotion, “Sorry, Max.”

“Be sincere!”

Daniel huffed. “How is he going to understand me?”

Jihoon glowered.

“Fine," he sighed. "I’m sorry, Max. For hurting you earlier. That wasn't nice of me, it was wrong of me to do that, and I apologize.”

Jihoon lowered the puppy, satisfied. “Good.”

“Even though you stole my food and you’re a constant pain in my ass for stealing my Jihoonie away from me even though I was here first.”

“Daniel!”

“Hey, that’s the best you’re getting out of me,” Daniel smirked and leaned back onto Jihoon’s bed. “Now can we _please_ get back to what we were doing?”

Jihoon huffed. Without another word, and to Daniel’s dismay, he stepped outside with Max in tow only to come back some minutes later Max-less. He closed the door and locked it.

“I’m not tainting my son, and you owe me 40000₩,” he said and before Daniel could gloat, Jihoon pounced on the elder, pushing him to the mattress, and kissed him fiercely.

Despite his initial reservations, Jihoon was utterly desperate and Daniel pulled back, smug. “We could’ve been doing this sooner, you know.”

“Shut up,” Jihoon snapped and dove right back to kissing that cocky smile off of the elder’s face.

Daniel would later find out that Jihoon had hastily persuaded the other members out of the dorm prior, which answered the question as to why Jihoon seemed a bit _too_ cooperative and daring all throughout their Christmas afternoon. 

A fitting present, he figured. After all, if turning into a dog was the key to unleash Jihoon’s freakier side…

Who was he to complain?

**Author's Note:**

> \- Plot twist: Jaehwan was the demon and he turned Daniel into a dog in the first place LOL
> 
> \- Follow me on Twitter @eyesofjihoon and/or talk to me here! >> ask.fm/taesquared


End file.
